MILLERSVILLE, Pa. – Competing in two different tournaments, the Franklin & Marshall wrestling team got its busy weekend started on Saturday at Millersville's "Shorty" Hitchcock Memorial Classic. Eight Diplomats competed in the nearby event while nine more are scheduled to compete tomorrow at the Keystone Classic hosted by the University of Pennsylvania.
Harrison Shapiro made the deepest run in the field amongst the F&M entrants. After being drawn into the bracket against the top seed from Pittsburgh at 184 lbs., Shapiro rebounded with back-to-back second period pins against Buffalo and the host Marauders. His tournament ended just two rounds shy of the placing matches. Shapiro has now won three matches this season and all have come with bonus points as he previously picked up a tech fall during the season-opening tournament at Binghamton.
Avery Clarke also won a pair of bouts for F&M at 141 lbs. He won 9-2 against Kutztown's Trent Kochersperger before pulling out a thrilling 11-10 victory versus West Chester's Jacob Taylor. Trailing 8-4 heading into the third period of that match, Clarke used a reversal, two takedowns, and riding time to advance before being edged out in a 3-2 final during the ensuing round.
Nick Tewell (141 lbs.) and Chris Hisey (157 lbs.) additionally picked up victories for the Diplomats. Tewell also drew the top seed in his first match, but rebounded with a convincing 15-4 major decision against Millersville's Alex Bendinelli. Tewell followed that up by scoring six of the final nine points during his next consolation match, but an early 4-0 deficit proved too much to overcome in a 7-6 defeat. Hisey picked up the first win of his F&M career with an 11-7 victory over Dylan Kaperzyk. He gave up the first two takedowns, but continued to push the pace and ended up receiving four points from stall calls before securing the winning takedown and rideout with just 1:14 remaining in regulation time.
Franklin & Marshall will return to the mats tomorrow for the Keystone Classic which gets underway at 10 a.m. at Penn. Ticket sales are currently available online while live video and live results will also be available for fans who are unable to attend the event in person.
Complete F&M Results
Eli Wallace – 125 lbs.
Round of 32: Lost vs. Jay Maldonado (Kutztown); Fall 2:03
Consolation 1: Lost vs. Nikko Beato (Naps); 10-0
Jack Bruce – 133 lbs.
Round of 32: Lost vs. Brandon Spellman (Princeton); Fall 6:04
Consolation 1: Lost vs. Cole Minnick (Buffalo); 5-0
Avery Clarke – 141 lbs.
Round of 64: Bye
Round of 32: Lost vs. Frank Antonelli (Naps); 6-3
Consolation 2: Bye
Consolation 3: Won vs. Trent Kochersperger (Kutztown); 9-2
Consolation 4: Won vs. Jacob Taylor (West Chester); 11-10
Consolation 5: Lost vs. Josh Bauman (American); 3-2
Nick Tewell – 141 lbs.
Round of 64: Bye
Round of 32: Lost vs. #1 Thomas Deck (Army); 10-2
Consolation 2: Bye
Consolation 3: Won vs. Alex Bendinelli (Millersville); 15-4
Consolation 4: Lost vs. Frank Antonelli (Naps); 7-6
Anthony Micci – 149 lbs.
Round of 64: Bye
Round of 32: Lost vs. #1 Brett Moore (Clarion); 5-1
Consolation 2: Bye
Consolation 3: Lost vs. Gabriel Onorato (Drexel); 6-1
Hunter Hockensmith – 149 lbs.
Round of 64: Bye
Round of 32: Lost vs. Thomas Szilagyi (Kutztown); 5-1
Consolation 2: Bye
Consolation 3: Lost vs. Matt Hoelke (Rider); 13-5
Chris Hisey – 157 lbs.
Round of 64: Bye
Round of 32: Lost vs. Kaeden Berger (Clarion); 5-4
Consolation 2: Bye
Consolation 3: Won vs. Dylan Kasperzyk (Aic); 11-7
Consolation 4: Lost vs. Joshua Bonomo (Bloomsburg); 6-1
Harrison Shapiro – 184 lbs.
Round of 32: Lost vs. #1 James Lledo (Pittsburgh); Fall: 6:13
Consolation 1: Bye
Consolation 2: Won vs. Gilbert Marquez (Buffalo); Fall: 4:07
Consolation 3: Won vs. Patrick Johnson (Millersville); Fall: 4:20
Consolation 4: Lost vs. Ryan Weinzen (Clarion); 12-4
